The economic crisis has officially gone global. No longer just a problem here in the states, now other countries are now starting to feel the crunch of a weakening global economy. Ford Europe has just announced that it will be cutting production at its European facilities by about 3% during the remainder of the year.
Along with a reduction in production line rates, the company is also laying off any temporary workers.
"The company is responding to the market conditions which are affecting the whole industry," said Adrian Schmitz, spokesman for Ford of Europe. "We are evaluating the market on a constant basis and we are reducing production volumes during the remainder of 2008."
Ford sales in Europe have dropped roughly 1.3% in the first nine months of this year. The company also announced that its factory in Valencia, Spain has started to implement the temporary suspension of contracts for 990 staff members for the last three months of 2008, though Ford promises they will all be re-hired as soon as production of the new Fiesta starts up. As the economic crisis moves overseas, Ford is starting to see that maybe Europe is no longer a safe haven for profits like it once was for the company.
Source: Automotive News
